Taste test: Sierra Nevada Beer Camp's 'World' collaborations

A beer inspired by Thai-style iced tea and another reminiscent of a camp fire are just two of the “World” beers featured in the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across the World mixed 12 pack.

Last week, I taste-tested the six American collaborations that are in the pack, and this week it’s time to take a look at the “World” offerings. Each beer is part of the Sierra Nevada pack, which features 12 beers that are collaborations with Sierra Nevada Brewing Company of California and North Carolina.

These are presented in the same order I drank the beers.

Bavarian-style Dunkle Weisse, brewed with Ayinger of Germany.

Sierra Nevada is one of my favorite American breweries and Ayinger is my favorite German brewery, so there’s no way the beer they brewed together wouldn’t be fantastic, right? Yes, that’s correct. This was my favorite of all the beers in the pack. It was a perfect dunkle weisse (dark wheat beer), with tons of banana flavors from the yeast, a pleasant sweetness and easy to drink. Absolutely fantastic.

Dry-Hopped Belgian Golden Ale, brewed with Duvel-Moortgat of Belgium.

Duvel-Moortgat’s most famous beer is Duvel, its Belgian golden ale. Sierra Nevada likes their hops. This beer combines both – adding some dry-hopping to a Belgian-style golden ale. The result is excellent. It has similar characteristics to the traditional Duvel, with some slight additional citrusy flavors from the hops, adding a little twist. Like the Ayinger collaboration, this is a real winner.

Thai-Style Iced Tea Ale, brewed with Mikkeller of Denmark.

I love Thai iced tea, but I didn’t think a beer could mimic the taste. This collaboration with Mikkeller comes pretty close. It’s brewed with black tea, sweet orange peel, lactose, tamarind and star anise. It has a creaminess and it really does remind you of Thai iced tea. The one negative is that as the beer warms up, the star anise begins to get too strong (at least for me, because it’s one of my least favorite beer ingredients). Overall, though, drink this cold and it’s a pleasant beer.

White IPA with Yuzu, brewed with Kiuchi Brewery of Japan.

Of all of the different versions of IPAs that have come along throughout the years, the white IPA has been my least favorite. I’ve liked one or two, and actively disliked most of them. This one, though, this is one is good. It’s a Belgian wit beer brewed with the hops of an IPA and yuzu, which is a Japanese citrus fruit. The yuzu helps as a bridge to bring the flavors together into a more than solid beer.

Campout Porter, brewed with Garage Project of New Zealand.

Campout Porter appears to take its inspiration from the “camp” part of the Beer Camp pack name. It’s a smoky porter that tastes like it would go perfectly with some s'mores. It’s brewed with two different types of honey and Tahitian vanilla beans, making it both sweet and smoky.

Atlantic-style Vintage Ale, brewed with Fuller’s Brewery of England.

There’s nothing wrong with this English-style ale brewed with plums. But, it really seems like it would benefit from some aging. There is a sweetness to this 8.5 percent alcohol by volume beer that would probably mellow if it were laid down in a basement for about a year. It’s still decent. The flavor of plums really dominates, but if I were to buy another 12-pack, I would put this in my basement for quite some time.

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. Email him at nmiller@wickedlocal.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/section/blogs01?taxid=646&start=2. Follow him on Twitter @RealBeerNut and on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerBeerNut